As football fans, we can only dream of being able to meet our favorite players when we were kids. Growing up, I’m sure we all had those athletes we idolized and wished so badly we could get a chance to hang out with or spend just a little bit of time with. For one Denver Broncos fan, this idea was taken to the next level.

Anna Bozard has been a huge fan of Peyton Manning all of her life. She was recently married in October and prior to her wedding, she decided she would send an invitation to the Broncos quarterback just for fun. Not really thinking she would get a response, she took the chance and sent it to the Broncos’ stadium address that she found on the team’s website.

According to ESPN, Bozard said she thought there would be a 25 percent chance she would get a response.

On Monday, Bozard’s mother checked the mail and found the RSVP slip had been returned from Manning. The quarterback had checked the box “regretfully decline” but signed his name along with his number 18 and the phrase, “Best Wishes.”

Anna Bozard

“I always loved watching him and admired the wonderful person that he was,” Bozard said, again according to ESPN. “Getting the response totally sealed my thoughts about him. He’s a good-natured and good-hearted person.

“I’m so excited he took the time to do what he did,” Bozard said. “I’m going to put it in a nice frame.”

In a gesture that seems like Manning was going out of his way for a fan, that’s exactly what took place here. The Broncos quarterback more than likely has hundreds of things to do in any given week on top of being in the spotlight constantly. But, for him to take time and do something like this gives all of us fans out there hope that our favorite athletes truly do care, or, at least some. Manning is one of the good guys in sports; a true professional. His doing something like this for a fan only furthers his adoration among fans.

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